Nature and Forms/Levels of Distance Education EIT 813 – ICT in Distance Education Presentation by: Mark Valentine Aikins ED/MIT/12/0001

Objectives By the end of this presentation you should be able to; EExplain what Distance Education is? DDescribe the nature of Distance Education EExplain the forms/levels in Distance Educations

Introduction As Francis Bacon said: “Knowledge is power”, then communication is freedom. The freedom for people to reach information and acquire knowledge that empowers them.

Introduction Students and teachers are in different places for all or most of the time that they learn and teach. Being in different places, they depend on some k kk kind of technology to deliver information and give them a way of i ii interacting with each other.

What is Distance Education? planned learning special course design instruction techniques various technologiesspecial organisational and administrative arrangements. Distance education is planned learning that normally occurs in a different place from teaching, requiring special course design and instruction techniques, communication through various technologies, and special organisational and administrative arrangements.

Characteristics of Distance Education. Distance education is the study of: Learning and teaching Learning that is planned and not accidental Learning that is normally in a different place from teaching Communication through various technologies

Nature of Distance Education

Distance education activities (course delivery systems) usually replace classroom instruction and involve costly resources, implementation strategies, and changes from the traditional classroom structure. Provides ready access to a variety of people and information resources. Changes in Teacher & Student Roles

Nature of Distance Education Creates opportunities for collaboration between classrooms. Supports leaner-initiated study. Offers advanced or otherwise unavailable courses. Delivers staff development programs with minimal restrictions on time and place.

Form/Levels of Distance Education Single Mode Institution  Distance education is the sole activity of this institution  Duties of staffs are different from those at university school system Dual Mode Institution  Distance education is added to the previously established campus and class-based teaching  Special unit is setup alongside the resource dedicated to the conventional teaching.  It seldom has its own faculty; faculty of the parent body provide subject expertise.

Individual Teacher  Individual teachers design and deliver their own courses  Designing, teaching and administration rest on the on- campus teachers and administrators  Teaching and learning can rarely achieve high quality distance education or sustain it for very long.  It difficulty getting a number of teachers to work together as course team Form/Levels of Distance Education

Virtual Universities and Consortia  The term (consortium) is used to describe an organisational arrangement of two or more institutions that work together in designing and delivery of courses.  Generally intended to emphasize the high-tech character internet-based communication  Marketers in both single and dual mode institutions use “virtuality” to sell distance education as a exciting high-tech enterprise than the older textbook based method

Distance Education Courses and Programs  Course is usually in sequence of study of body of subject matter that is structured according to norms of the parent institution.  Courses are taught by a wide variety of technologies. What is common  Every course has both learner and teacher  Content organised around a set of learning objectives  Design learning experience and evaluation

References Saba, F., & Twitchell, D. (1988). Research in distance education. A system modeling approach. The American Journal of Distance Education, 2(1), 9-24.

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